The present invention relates in general to arcade games, and in particular, to coin or token redemption games.
Numerous types of arcade games are known in the prior art. Roll-down games are popular games in arcades and utilize a ramp and a gamepiece, such as a coin, that is directed down the ramp. The coin, for example, is directed onto or into targets or around obstacles, and a game score is accumulated based on hitting or landing on the targets.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,667,217 discloses a roll-down arcade game that has an inclined playing surface and a coin directing mechanism. A player can direct a coin in a desired direction down the playing surface using the directing mechanism. The coin rolls toward one or more targets on the playing surface, and a game score is adjusted based on the target that receives the coin.
Such games only provide one game play per coin. Also, the player has limited aiming ability with regards to propelling the coin onto the playing surface. Furthermore, these arcade games have a limited lifetime, because players lose interest in playing the game.
Therefore, there is a need in the prior art for an arcade game that provides more than one game play for a single coin or token, as well as, an aiming device that allows the player to be more accurate in aiming the coin. There is a further need in the prior art for an arcade game that has a longer lifetime by sustaining the players"" interest by providing new game play.
The game apparatus of the present invention has a gamepiece aiming device having a plurality of degrees of movement that allows a player to have better aiming capability. The inventive game apparatus features a multi-playfield game having at least first and second playfields that are coupled to one another. The gamepiece aiming device emits a gamepiece into the first playfield for first game play, the gamepiece thereafter being conducted to the second playfield for second game play.
The gamepiece aiming device has a first degree of movement, of a plurality of degrees of movement, that is a substantially linear movement, and a second degree of movement, of the plurality of degrees of movement, that is a rotational movement. The playfield has a plurality of playfields and a plurality of levels, at least one respective playfield being in each level of the plurality of levels. Each playfield has a win/lose scenario, the win/lose scenarios being independent of one another.
In one embodiment the present invention is a multilevel game apparatus, in which the gamepiece aiming device has a gamepiece ejection device configure to have at least a rotational movement, and a carriage that supports the gamepiece ejection device, the carriage configured to have a linear movement. The game apparatus has a multi-playfield game having at least first and second levels, and having at least first and second playfields that are coupled to one another, the first playfield located in the first level and the second playfield located in the second level. The gamepiece aiming device emits a gamepiece into the first playfield for first game play on the first level, the gamepiece thereafter being conducted to the second playfield for second game play on the second level.
In another embodiment the present invention is a game system, which has a plurality of modular playfields. The game system has a multi-playfield game that has removeably coupled thereto a number of playfields that is a subset of the plurality of modular playfields, each of the playfields in the game device being successively traversed by a gamepiece, and each of the playfields in the game device having a respective win/lose scenario. Each playfield is coupled to a following playfield except for a last playfield in the game device. Each playfield is played irrespective of an outcome of a win/lose scenario of a previous playfield, and playfields in the game device are interchangeable with other playfields of the plurality of modular playfields.